College Community Celebrates Dr. Steven Berk by Participating in Broad Street Run

Release Date: Sunday, May 6, 2012

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Members of the Chestnut Hill College community have banded together to fundraise and remember a beloved professor at the College whose life has touched many students, faculty, and staff.

On May 6, members of the College community will participate in the 2012 Blue Cross Broad Street Run in memory of Dr. Steven Berk, Ph.D., ABN, assistant professor of psychology who passed away earlier this year after a brief but courageous fight with pancreatic cancer. Dr. Berk, who specialized in neuropsychology, was a past president of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association and the Philadelphia Society for Clinical Psychologists, and a representative to the American Psychological Association.

The College team, named “Steve’s Griffs” after Dr. Berk and the College mascot, is comprised of approximately 30 members of the faculty, staff, students, family and friends. They are running to fundraise for a scholarship fund to be named in memory of Dr. Berk that will be awarded annually to a graduate psychology student who exemplifies Dr. Berk’s values and interests.

The group has received sponsors from within the College and from local businesses, and has held fundraisers at the Iron Hill Brewery. The group is also selling t-shirts and hosting a spaghetti dinner the night before the race. Donations have reached $3,000, with a goal of $10,000 so that the scholarship can be awarded in perpetuity.

“It is important for me to preserve Steve's spirit and the way he contributed to our department and the College,” say Kevin McCarthy, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology. “He came to Chestnut Hill College at the height of his professional career, having a large successful practice and several leadership positions in psychological organizations, because he really wanted to give back to the profession through teaching its newest members. That type of giving characterizes Chestnut Hill College, and it is important that we continue that spirit and show our students and community what kind of man Steve Berk was and how they can strive to be also.”

For more information about donating toward the sponsorship, contact Kevin McCarthy, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, at 215.248.7115 or mccarthyk1@chc.edu.

You are cordially invited to the School of Graduate Studies' Spring Information Session on Saturday, March 14 at 11:00. Faculty from each department will give program presentations, and admissions staff will explain the admissions process. Come find out about CHC's graduate degrees, enjoy refreshments and receive an application fee waiver (master's level) or a discount coupon (Psy.D.). Register today or contact Andrew at GradAdmissions@chc.edu for more information.

As part of the 22nd Annual Disntiguished Biomedical Lecture Series, cancer surgeon Gerald A. Isenberg, M.D.,
F.A.C.S., will present his lecture “Thinking Out of the Box and Into the Colon,”
on Wednesday, March 18, at 3 p.m., at the College’s East Parlor, St. Joseph
Hall.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Contact Lakshmi Atchison, PhD, director of the biomedical series at Chestnut Hill College, at latchiso@chc.edu or 215-248-7159 for more information.